Sunday, 25th March, 2018

...rd that nearly every ethnicity has histories that they are certain are filled with similar atrocities. Look at Australia's Aboriginal experience, how Native South and Central Americans fell to the Spanish, the history of the Polish, Rome's presence in England, the Jewish plight throughout recorded history, Japan's treatment of China, etc.I don't know where you live. I live in Australia. I will confidently assert that the British conquest of Australia is a live rather than purely historical event in a way that the Roman conquest of Britain is not.
If one turns to the subsequent Germanic and then Norman conquests, I'll let the Welsh speak for themselves; but as an outsider I do notice that they have a degree of self-government and official recognition of the Welsh language. That already marks a significant difference from the Australian situation. Furthermore, for Welsh fantasy gaming, we have the Mabinogion as one possible starting point.
I think part of the point of the point of SMHWorlds's article is to encourage looking at American First Nations cultures through that sort of lens, rather than eg as exotic people one might meet if one were a Viking sailing to Manhattan.

Thursday, 23rd May, 2019

I am a little shocked at how well Rolemaster Classic does compared to others.
Rolemaster front-loads most of the complexity, and automating the tables makes it play MUCH MUCH faster. In a way, that makes VTT a superior platform to the home table for it. If fully set up, it could even make character gen superior. Plus, when you ignore all the optional rules, tis a fairly simple ruleset.
Plus, it's a system with lots of meaningful choices in Character Generation, despite being a random roll.

Wednesday, 15th May, 2019

Is there a Tunnels & Trolls revival going on that I may be missing? Seems like I have seen a bunch of T&T stuff lately.
A good deal of interesting projects in this one. A Town Called Malice and Genefunk look really cool.
SMHWorlds,
I've noticed a lot of T&T attention as well but I don't think there's any specific revival. But, it is a good thing. :-)

Friday, 22nd March, 2019

While there are free PDF making sites and some software comes with "Export to PDF", it should be noted that there is often a software cost to making a PDF. There may even be slight differences in the PDF version of a book and the physical copy. Someone has to take the time to index the PDF. So while the PDF may be small or even appear negligible if you produce many PDFs (cost over time), for a small or indie publisher, the cost may not be zero or insignificant.
I am not trying to disagree with point #1, just adding the idea that in fact PDF creation may not and often does not have a "zero" cost. It is also the easiest medium to share around, which we know inevitably will happen. That being the case, a decent up front cost for a PDF is not a strange idea at all.
Very much agree.
As pdfs are becoming more common and expected, so are full bookmarks and the like and all this does indeed take extra work.

Friday, 8th February, 2019

Fantastic jobs this month. I think the Uncanny Magazine call is especially forward thinking. A shame none of them are here in the ATL, but good jobs none the less.
I'm excited about Uncanny Magazine's call for disabled creators and I can't wait to read their work.
As well, your zine on Kickstarter, D.I.R.G.E.zine, is offering work for diverse voices. "We need more diverse voices. If you wish to be a contributor (it is paid work) go here and submit your pitch! D.I.R.G.E.zine" - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reigndragon/dirgezine
Thank you,
Egg Embry
Love's Labour's Liberated - A 5e RPG Zine
POWERED by the DREAMR, a PbtA RPG #ZineQuest

Friday, 1st February, 2019

I get that and different groups certainly handle it differently. But good sarcastic wit is a bit different than silly and goofy humor, the former is fine but the latter does not appeal to me as a GM or player. At least for a bad guy game.
Well, yeah, it has to be the right type of humor. No argument there. Though even occasional goofiness works, if it's in character for the evil folks. (When dealing with humanoids, some of which aren't the brightest spoons in the shed, for instance.)

Saturday, 10th November, 2018

Is there a direct connection between Dragon Heist and Mad Mage or just something tangential?
There is not a direct connection to WDH. You can connect the 2 if you desire (easiest would be using the Spring scenario with Xanathar from WDH), but Mad Mage is not a direct sequel to Dragon Heist.

Monday, 29th October, 2018

This may seem a bit unfair to those who have paid for a product and expect to be able to use that product anywhere they go.
This here is where your problem is.
Where on earth did you get the preposterous idea that players should be entitled to enforce their rules on the DM?
Not all crunch fits all campaign visions or DMing styles. This game is not "pay to win".
tldr: no, it is not unfair, it is perfectly natural and wholly reasonable for DMs to be able to say "no". Case closed.
What's unfair is the wet dream of merchandizers the world over that somehow inflicts D&D but no other rpg I've ever played... :erm:

Wednesday, 27th June, 2018

My interaction with Delta Green came from a local (VA) gamer network that ran a version of it as a Living style game. I definitely enjoyed it. My question is: it sounds as if the setting does not know exactly what it wanted to be, maybe trying to do too much? Would that be accurate?
See what Chris and I have said above, about the book not choosing to focus on the really meaty themes like decay and hubris.
I would have liked to see Ken Hite write a DG 1960s sourcebook and try to work some thematic threads into it. That said, I get why they would rather have a standalone game as you sell more core books than sourcebooks. It's a better business decision if not an artistic one.

Friday, 20th April, 2018

Interestingly, 1st edition Stormbringer has a small section on playing Elric, which I thought was interesting. As a player it never occurred to me to want to be the fictional character, constrained by their actions and motivations. But I guess there was a desire among some groups to do just that.
Your post is invisible on a black background.

Tuesday, 17th April, 2018

I suspect (as always) system matters a great deal. How you might model Belgareth in D&D is different than say how you might in Rolemaster or FATE. The notable exceptions, even though systems vary wildly, is super heroes. I think the old Marvel Super Heroes did a pretty decent job of modeling the comic characters. Where as the DC games, from what I heard, always had some issues.I like Marvel Heroic RP's approach, although I've only seen a few characters in action (War Machine, Nightcrawler, Bobby Drake, Wolverine are the main ones).
And I like Burning Wheel's Tolkien-esque approach to elves and dwarves.
System matters a lot. It's easier to model fictional characters in games like Fate, Cortex Plus or Heroquest, than in DnD type games. Games with levelling, and/or heavy emphasis on nitty gritty mechanical details are especially bad at simulating fictional characters. When I think of emulating fictional characters in D&D, I only think in 4e terms. AD&D generally isn't flexible enough. But G...

Wednesday, 28th March, 2018

* Make the Elven High Fleet ...villains.. kind of like the Peace Keepers. Maybe not that bad, but close. Almost like the Vulcan High Command in Enterprise. That may be a better analogy.
This is very much the way that I treated the IEN in my most recent Spelljammer game. They weren't bad per say, but they were very much of the opinion that they were right, and that their policies would bear out as such over time, no matter what anyone else said. My players' characters hated them, but still felt compelled to (mostly) defer to their authority, because oftentimes, the alternatives were much, much worse (i.e. allowing Illithid, Neogi, Mercane, or Beholder authority to gain ascendancy).
Also, I portrayed (baslically) all planetbound elves as sort of backwater rednecks. It was great fun.

Saturday, 24th March, 2018

So I was thinking about Spelljammer recently. I intend to do a live game stream using it and the Realms.
But if I were going to design it for 5e, these are the basic changes I would make
* Give it a fresh coat of paint that is reminiscent of Farscape. A Henson make over, not with puppets per se but with that colorful and rich texture to the creatures native to the setting. The Giff as a species in Frscape would have been gold.
* Make the Elven High Fleet ...villains.. kind of like the Peace Keepers. Maybe not that bad, but close. Almost like the Vulcan High Command in Enterprise. That may be a better analogy.
* Engage adventures both from the POV of old space hands AND fresh faced characters who had no idea that you could go into space.
* Bring back the Vodoni from Under The Dark Fist as bad guys.
* A Better space combat system. Maybe not Saganami Island Simulator, but a Star Fleet Battles or B5Wars kind of thing, but with more boarding actions.
Oh my God. Farscape is PERFECT to dra...

Somehow I fail to see what this article wants to say. Maybe its because I have no idea what the author means with "sacred" exactly. Something "sacred" usually means something with a religious meaning or importance. Yet I fail to see how Beowulf or Thermopylae would be considered sacred. "Mythic" might have been the better word.
That's because "sacred" is an extremely wishy-washy, vague term that has no specific or concrete action. Like the statement "The magic would be subtle and beautiful and full of mystery." This is poetic, but completely ungameable. Nobody, not even SMHWorlds, really knows what it means or how it would translate into gameplay.
Also I disagree that a campaign about Tribes in North America necessarily have to be very spiritual. Like with the druid in D&D the spirituality can be mentioned but take a backseat to exploring, diplomacy/politics or warfare among the tribes.
I think it's reductive and plays dangerous close to the Noble Savage stereotype. I live inbetween two different reservations, and Native Americans are the second largest ethnic group after whites, and while it would probably be wrong to assume too much about pre-colonial natives from their modern ancestors, I can say with quite a bit of assurance that Native Americans are people, and like all people, some of them are spiritual and some of them are profane, some of them decent people and some of them are degenerates. There are industrious, honest, hard-working natives, and there are lazy, dishonest and criminal natives -- just like white people. I strongly, strongly suspect...

The purpose of the Journey to... articles is really three fold
1. To open up players to potentially other cultures and mythologies for their play
2. To encourage research and respect of those cultures
3. To suggest that in embracing different world views, it might also change the dynamics of how we play, from merely dungeon delving or alien killin to ideas built around actual cultural and social conflicts. It adds a level of verisimilitude.
You may not care for trying something that is outside of, let's just call it "Why You Play". That's fine, no value judgment (really). The articles are not being written to shame anyone, they are being written as simple education. No one is saying "Don't play other cultures", instead we are saying "do so with respect". That really is it.
It is not diversity for diversity sake, which would be a hollow gesture on everyone's part.
So how would medieval Europe interact with the native tribes of North America in the time before guns? We have a small sample of th...

The purpose of the Journey to... articles is really three fold
1. To open up players to potentially other cultures and mythologies for their play
2. To encourage research and respect of those cultures
3. To suggest that in embracing different world views, it might also change the dynamics of how we play, from merely dungeon delving or alien killin to ideas built around actual cultural and social conflicts. It adds a level of verisimilitude.
You may not care for trying something that is outside of, let's just call it "Why You Play". That's fine, no value judgment (really). The articles are not being written to shame anyone, they are being written as simple education. No one is saying "Don't play other cultures", instead we are saying "do so with respect". That really is it.
It is not diversity for diversity sake, which would be a hollow gesture on everyone's part.
I respect you taking the time to share your goals.
I think your response, IMO, is stronger than the article in conveyin...

Wednesday, 14th March, 2018

But Occultism, that really bothers me. It is a thoroughly modern conceit based upon the idea that anything that cannot be measured, the paranormal for instance, is studied under that term. Except MAGIC is a measurable force in the universe; a class of character literally writes it down in a book. Semiotics would be, I think (correct me if I am wrong as I am not expert) a better term if not the correct term for studying runes and symbols.All of D&D is filled with modernisms and anachronisms. "Semiotics" would most definitely be just as anachronistic for the name of a skill as "occultism." You are simply trading one modernism for another.